As local doo-wop group takes off, members aim to give back to the community
You may know Tom Wilson as the mayor of Bellefonte, but he’s also one of the founders of local a cappella doo-wop group Rama-Lama.
“There really wasn’t an a cappella doo-wop group anywhere within 300 miles; probably the closest a cappella doo-wop group to central Pennsylvania was either out of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh,” Wilson said.
Seeing a void in the Centre County music scene, and having a background in doo-wop himself (he sang in an a cappella doo-wop group in the ’80s called Doo-Wop Incorporated), he found a few friends and decided to start a group of his own.
Wilson recruited bass singer Jeff Brown and baritone John Zimmerman, a former Bellefonte Area High School music teacher, and the three held auditions for one more individual to join the group. They found Luke Lorenz, a young tenor originally not familiar with doo-wop at all, but who fit in easily with the others. A second tenor, Eric McGinnis, came along, eventually bringing with him his wife, Amelia. They created the Rama-Lama you see today.
The first show the group did as a foursome, however, was a little out of the ordinary.
“We strolled around downtown State College during the Arts Festival,” Wilson said. Not having been invited to officially perform, the group sang while roaming the sidewalks, until festival organizers received wind of the activity. “They invited us to be a part of the festival the next year, and First Night as well.”
You can now find Rama-Lama performing at nearly all of the regional festivals, musical or not — First Night, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Festival, Fourth Fest and more. They also perform at private parties, fundraisers and occasionally at The State Theatre.
“Recently we took it upon ourselves to donate some time and talent to help the area food banks,” Wilson said. “We did our first fundraiser with them on January 25. We paired up with the American Ale House and the State College Food Bank and went out and did songs by request for donations for the food bank, and in about 80 minutes of strolling around to the different tables, we raised about $590.”
“We’ve also been invited back to the American Ale House to do something on a pretty regular basis, for different things,” he said.
On Thursday, the group will perform at the American Ale House for a benefit night for Centre County PAWS. They’ll sing songs by request at your table for a donation.
Rama-Lama will also be doing a benefit concert night along with Radio Serenade from 9-11 p.m. April 6 at the Belkefonte Elks Club. Proceeds from the dinner will go to the FaithCentre food bank.
While doo-wop is a genre that primarily peaked in the ’50s and ’60s, Rama-Lama has no shortage of local gigs.
“There’s still a market out there. It seems to be enjoyable and we have a lot of fun with it. It’s not a serious presentation. We try to do our best (with the) music, but we also have a lot of fun doing it and interacting with the audience,” Wilson said. “The community has embraced it very well. We have played so many different high-profile fundraisers, like the Palmer Museum fundraiser was at the Nittany Lion Inn, and we started off in the entranceway, there with the dome, where it has good acoustics, and people’s faces just light up when they see and hear us. It’s very well accepted in the community. It’s great entertainment, great fun and also very nostalgic.”
Businesses interested in hosting a fundraising concert to benefit a local nonprofit, similar to the concerts held at the American Ale House benefiting the State College Food Bank, can get in touch with Wilson at 280-6863.
This story was originally published March 19, 2018 at 9:35 AM with the headline "As local doo-wop group takes off, members aim to give back to the community."